- ROY NELSON VS CHEICK KONGO AT UFC 116

by Damon Martin – MMAWeekly.com
Never one to back down from a challenge, Roy Nelson will once again take on a tall order in his next fight as the “Ultimate Fighter” winner will square off against French striker Cheick Kongo at UFC 116 in July.

The bout was confirmed to MMAWeekly.com by sources close to the fight on Saturday, and Nelson also confirmed the fight on his personal Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Since winning season 10 of the “Ultimate Fighter”, Roy Nelson (15-4) has made no bones about the fact that he wants to face the toughest fighters the heavyweight division has to offer, and wants to get a title shot sooner rather than later.

After knocking out Brendan Schaub to win the reality show, Nelson was given a tall order, literally, in his first fight following the show facing 6’11” Dutch fighter Stefan Struve. Despite the obvious reach disadvantage, Nelson blasted through Struve in less than a minute when the two fought in March.

Opposing Nelson in July will be Frenchman Cheick Kongo (15-6-1) coming off a win over Paul Buentello in March, in which he controlled the fight from start to finish, before submitting his opponent with elbows to the body.

It’s been an up and down ride for Kongo in the heavyweight division as he’s come close to title shots a few times, but runs into obstacles along the way. He just recently signed a new 6-fight deal with the UFC, so he’s in this division for the long haul and wants to make his mark by facing Nelson in July.

There has been no official announcement about the July 3 card, but it’s likely to be headlined by the return of UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar taking on interim champion Shane Carwin. Nelson vs. Kongo will more than likely end up on the pay-per-view main card as well.